Search results (tags) for: "showcase"

Autumnal Showcase: On Sale Thursday, September 18, 2008

2008-09-15T14:37:00Z

Autumn is my favorite season. Leaves burst into a beautiful array of colors, the air gets a bit crisp and I start to have visions of the warm smell of apple pie: these are just a few of the great things about fall. The Autumnal Front Page Showcase is a great place to inspire a buyers' creativity with autumnal and Halloween themed items to wear or to decorate their homes.

While considering a potential purchase for this Showcase, please try to keep your featured items on point thematically: Think autumn colors — like deep reds, oranges, yellows and browns — Halloween, leaves, pumpkins, costumes and all things fall. It does not matter which category your items are in for this Showcase.

The Autumnal Front Page Showcase goes on sale Thursday, September 18, 2008 at 12pm EDT.
Go to the Showcase Gateway to purchase a spot.
This Showcase is will run until from 12am EDT Monday, September 22nd, 2008 until 11:59pm EDT on October 19, 2008.
For $15 USD, Etsy sellers can purchase a 24-hour spot in the Autumnal Front Page Showcase, which will be linked from a prominent banner on Etsy's homepage.
Sellers determine which item will be featured in your Showcase slot. Sellers must use the tool in Your Etsy > Promote > Showcase. Learn more about this process here.

Future Showcases

If you are thinking about planning for other Showcases that may be more appropriate for your items, here are some of the front page Showcases we will be highlighting for the holiday season:

Winter Accessories Showcase: On sale Thursday, October 16, 2008; the Showcase will be live from October 20 to October 26, 2008.
- Think accessories, knitting, crochet, jewelry, vintage, bags and purses
Holidays: Cards and Wrap Showcase: On sale Thursday, October 23, 2008; the Showcase will be live from October 27 to November 2, 2008.
- Think holiday cards, tags and all things for wrapping great gifts
Holidays: Home Decor Showcase: On sale Thursday, October 30, 2008; the Showcase will be live from November 3 to November 9, 2008.
- Think anything to decorate for the holidays: housewares, art, candles, quilts, ceramics and pottery, glass and vintage
Holidays: Kids and Toys Showcase: On sale Thursday, November 6, 2008; the Showcase will be live from November 10 to November 16, 2008.
- Think fun holiday gifts for children of all ages

What is this Showcase thing? It's Etsy's internal advertising system for Etsy sellers. For a general introduction to Showcase, read Matt's Storque article 13.5 Questions about the Showcase, and for deeper thoughts on figuring out if Showcase is right for you, see Beth's Showcase Deconstructed article.

Fall Fashion Showcase: On Sale Thursday, September 4, 2008

2008-09-02T16:45:00Z

* There was an internal miscommunication here, and I am truly sorry. All of those who bought a spot in Today's (Sunday, September 7th) Fall Fashion Showcase will be issued a full refund. The banner will be going up now. I truly regret any trouble this may have caused.

The weather is changing, and for those in the Northern Hemisphere there will soon be a chill in the air. With cooler temperatures comes the promise of snuggling into old stand-bys and making room for new favorites. If you're a maker of clothing, accessories or bags that fit with the fall weather motif, we're looking for you! We're launching our Fall Fashion Showcase this week, and we'd love to feature all the pieces that make up the ideal fall outfit. Scarves, leather bags, jackets—these are just the beginning!

In order to keep the Showcase on-point thematically, the tool will only pull items placed in the following categories: Accesories (e.g., top-level tag being "accessories"), Bags and Purses, Clothing, and as of 11:59 PM on September 7th, Vintage.

The Fall Fashion Front Page Showcase goes on sale Thursday, September 4, 2008 at 12 pm EDT.
Go to the Showcase Gateway to purchase a spot.
This Showcase is will run until from Sunday, September 7th until 11:59 PM EDT on September 21, 2008.
For $15 USD, Etsy sellers can purchase a 24-hour spot in the Fall Fashion Front Page Showcase, which will be linked from a prominent banner on Etsy's homepage.
Sellers determine which item will be featured in your Showcase slot. Sellers must use the tool in Your Etsy > Showcase. Learn more about this process here.

Future Showcases

If you are thinking about planning for other Showcases that may be more appropriate for your items, here is one of the themed front page Showcases that's coming up:

Autumnal Showcase: On sale Thursday, September 18, 2008; the Showcase will be live from September 21 to October 12, 2008.
- Think autumn colors, Halloween, leaves, pumpkins, costumes and all things fall.

Back to School Decorating Showcase: On Sale Friday, August 22, 2008

2008-08-21T17:51:00Z

Dear Sellers,

It's the start of a new school year, and many students are looking to make a new room their own. An empty dorm room can be an overwhelming blank slate; help out in the decor department with some great picks to make a home away from home more comfortable. A screenprinted poster, a new mug, push pins and magnets, blankets and rugs are just a few ideas to spruce up a room. These items would also make great care package ideas, housewarming gifts or just give a much-needed revamp to a tired room.

In order to keep the Showcase on point thematically, the tool will only pull in items placed in the following categories: Art (e.g., top-level tag being "art"), Books and Zines, Candles, Ceramics and Pottery, Furniture, Geekery, Housewares, Plants and Edibles and Quilts.

The Back to School Decorating Front Page Showcase goes on sale Friday, August 22nd, 2008 at 12 pm EDT.
Go to the Showcase Gateway to purchase a spot.
This showcase goes live on Tuesday, August 26, 2008 at 12 am (midnight) EDT and will run until 11:59 PM EDT on September 7, 2008.
For $15 USD, Etsy sellers can purchase a 24 hour spot in the The Back to School Decorating Showcase, which will be linked from a prominent banner on Etsy's homepage.
Sellers determine which item will be featured in your Showcase slot. Sellers must use the tool in Your Shop. Read more about this process here.

Future showcases

If you are thinking about planning for other showcases that may be more appropriate for your items, here are some of the themed front page showcases that are coming up:

Fall Fashion Showcase: On sale Thursday, September 4th, 2008; live from September 7th-September 21st, 2008.
- Think clothing, bags and purses and accessories.
Autumnal Showcase: On sale Thursday, September 18th; live from September 21st-October 12th, 2008.
- Think autumn colors, halloween, leaves, pumpkins, costumes and all things fall.

Back to School Fashion Showcase: On Sale Thursday, August 7, 2008

2008-08-06T15:00:00Z

Dear Sellers,

Some people are already back to school, some are lucky and have a few weeks. Whether at school or thinking about it, many are considering what they will need to spruce up their back to school (or back to work, for some of us) wardrobe. We are looking to feature back to school fashion items in this showcase, such as dresses, shirts, skirts, pants — or that special first day of school outfit. Think clothing staples for all ages.

In order to keep the Showcase on point thematically, the tool will only pull in items placed in the Clothing Category (i.e. top-level tag being "clothing").

The Back to School Fashion Front Page Showcase goes on sale Thursday, August 7th at 3:00 pm EDT.
Go to the Showcase Gateway to purchase a spot.
Said showcase goes live on Tuesday, August 12 at 12 am (midnight) EDT and will run until 11:59 PM EDT on August 25.
For $15 USD, Etsy sellers can purchase a 24 hour spot in the The Back to School Fashion Showcase, which will be linked from a prominent banner on Etsy's homepage.
Sellers determine which item will be featured in your Showcase slot. Sellers must use the tool in Your Shop. Read more about this process here.

13.5 Questions about Showcase

2008-08-05T17:12:00Z

1. What is Showcase?
Showcase is Etsy’s internal cooperative advertising program. We don't sell outside advertising to companies, but we do sell ad space to our sellers. By purchasing a spot in a Showcase, Etsy sellers can show off their items and help boost their sales and shop awareness. The Showcase is a great way to get more hearts, favorited items, and sales.

2. How does it work?
Showcase spots are sold as 24 hour chunks.

For $15, Etsy sellers can purchase a 24 hour spot in the Main Showcase, which is linked to from a prominent banner on Etsy's homepage.
For $7, Etsy sellers can purchase a 24 hour spot in The Storque Showcase, which cycles through on the homepage of the Storque, Etsy's blog.
For $7, Etsy sellers can purchase a 24 hour spot in one or more of the Category Showcases. As of mid November 2007, we offer showcases in each Category. These Showcases are located at the top of the respective Category's pages.

3. How many Showcases are there at a given time?
Usually there is only the Main Showcase, The Storque Showcase, and the Category Showcases one at any given time, but for holidays and special events, we often create additional themed Showcases.

4. Showcase spots were selling out so fast, I could never get a spot. Did you ever do anything about this?
Because of the great demand for promotional opportunities on Etsy, we started to expand Showcase throughout the site. We will always keep it affordable so we can help as many sellers as possible have access to this excellent promotional opportunity. See bethela's Showcase Deconstructed article and the Shiny New Showcases announcement.

5. What currency are the $7.00 and $15 fees in?
US Dollars.

6. What time zone determines the twenty-four hours of the day?
Eastern Time in the USA. This is GMT -4:00

7. Can I cancel a spot after I'd made a reservation? Is the fee refunded?
We will only cancel and refund spots under very special circumstances. Deciding you are no longer interested in your spot does not fly. If you feel like you really have a valid case please email support@etsy.com.

8. How many spots can I reserve?
You can purchase up to two spots per Showcase each month. On a given Showcase, each seller can have only one spot per day. For example, your jewelry can be in the Main Showcase, the Storque Showcase, and the Jewelry Category Showcase all on the same day. But you cannont have two spots in one of those Showcases on the same day.

9. How do I choose which items appear on the Showcases?
The Category Showcases only draw from your items in the corresponding category (with the corresponding first tag). Go to Your Etsy and look for the Showcase link under the Promote section. There, you can manage which correctly tagged items you want to feature. With the Main Showcase and Storque Showcase (and our occasional holiday Showcase), you can change up which items you want featured on the fly and the changes will be reflected live in the Showcase.

10. What happens when an item being displayed sells?
When one sells, it pulls up the next featured item in your shop, then the next, then the next etc… If all your featured items sell and you do not add more, the Showcase will randomly pull another item from your shop (or in the case of Category Showcases, it will pull another one of your items from the corresponding category). This random item will change each time the Showcase is loaded.

11. What happens if the site is taken down for maintenance and I am on the Showcase?
You will be given bonus time to make up for the trouble.

12. How do I purchase a spot?
Step 1: Go to the Showcase Gateway.

Step 2: Choose the Showcase in which you'd like to reserve a spot.

Step 3: Select from the available dates on the top right side of the page.

Step 4: Hit the purchase button.

Yay! You are all set, the fee will be added to your normal Etsy bill.

Still having trouble? Check out the Step-By-Step Showcase Help Guide.

13. I cannot remember my scheduled Showcase day! What Do I do?
Remain calm! No need to post in the forums or email support. Instead, please login to Etsy, click Your Etsy, and check out your Etsy Bill. It will tell you the day of your Showcase and serve as a receipt for your purchase.

13.5 How do I know if the Showcase is right for me?
Some sellers have done very well with the Showcase in terms of exposure and sales, some not so much. We recommend you check out bethela's article Showcase Deconstructed for tips on what considerations you should think about before purchasing. Exboyfriend also did a great 2-part series for the Storque all about online advertising, A DIY-Friendly Guide to Online Advertising.

Special Frontpage Children's Showcase: On Sale on Thursday July 10, 2008

2008-08-05T15:00:00Z

UPDATE: The special Handmade Kids Showcase has been extended through August 11, 11:59pm. Sellers can continue to purchase spots in this Showcase for your Childrens category items.

The following was originally posted on July 9.

Dear Sellers,

In conjunction with our Handmade Kids project, we'll be running a special frontpage Children's Showcase for three weeks. Three frontpage banners — rotating one per week — will link to the special Showcase.

The larger Handmade Kids project includes related Storque content, outside ads, a contest and more. A dedicated landing page will serve as an introduction for newcomers to all things kids on Etsy. This landing page will also feature a link to the special Children's Showcase, giving it added exposure. Read more about the Handmade Kids project here.

In order to keep the Showcase on point thematically, the tool will only pull in items placed in the Children's Category (i.e. top-level tag being "children").

The Handmade Kids frontpage Showcase goes on sale Thursday, July 10 at 3:00 pm EDT.
Go to the Showcase Gateway to purchase a spot.
It goes live on Monday, July 14 at 12 am (midnight) EDT and will run until 11:59 PM EDT on August 3.
For $15 USD, Etsy sellers can purchase a 24 hour spot in the Handmade Kids Showcase, which is linked to from a prominent banner on Etsy's homepage, links from the Storque's related series, as well as the special landing page.
Sellers determine which item to be featured in your Showcase slot. Sellers must use the tool in Your Shop. Read more about this process here.

UPDATE on Showcase: One More Week of Travel, Then Pets

2008-06-26T15:34:00Z

Sellers,

UPDATE: The frontpage Pets Showcase is now on sale at the Showcase Gateway. You get a free Pets Category Showcase with your spot. The original June 19 post has details below:

We are excited to announce a special Pets Showcase. This will be on sale on Thursday June 26 at 10am. Items in the Pets Category will be eligible, as well as other animal-inspired work. This special will be accompanied by our ongoing Etsy Pets series in the Storque. Sellers who purchase the special Pets Frontpage Showcase will get a simultaneous Pets Category Showcase for free. Our treat!

The Pets frontpage Showcase goes on sale Thursday, June 26th at 10:00 am EDT.
Go to the Showcase Gateway to purchase a spot.
It goes live on Monday, June 30th at 12 am (midnight) EDT and will run until 11:59 PM EDT on July 13.
For $15 USD, Etsy sellers can purchase a 24 hour spot in the Pets Showcase, which is linked to from a prominent banner on Etsy's homepage and links from the Storque pets-related series.
The same item will be featured for free in the Pets Category Showcase on the same day.
Sellers determine which item to be featured in your Showcase slot. Sellers must use the tool in Your Shop. Read more about this process here.

We said one week only in our first announcement, but we've decided to extend the frontpage Travel Showcase another week, until end of day on Sunday, June 29. The pilot week is going well, so we want to continue the special. These spots are on sale now through the Showcase Gateway.

We ask that sellers choose travel-related items such as:

Travel accessories: Bags, passport holders, wallets, etc.
Vacation fashion: Clothing and accessories ideal for a getaway in all climates. (Safari hat, sunglasses, etc.)
Travel-related items: Maps, vintage road signs, compasses, travel games, travel-sized toiletries, journals.
Travel-inspired items: Think airplanes, road trips, landmarks, trains, beaches, etc.

What is this Showcase thing? For a general introduction to Showcase, read Matt's Storque article 13.5 Questions about the Showcase, and for deeper thoughts on figuring out if Showcase is right for you, see Beth's Showcase Deconstructed article.

Give us a shout in the comments below if you think you have the cutest pet in the world! We want links to your flickr pictures. And check out our Etsy Pets series!

Travel Showcase on Sale this Thursday, June 12th 2008 — One Week Only!

2008-06-12T13:46:00Z

Dear Sellers:

The time is almost here (at least for those of us in the northern hemisphere): school vacations, summer break, road trips, travel to distant lands, or even camping in the backyard. You can help Etsy shoppers make their journeys — whether traveling far or near or simply escaping at home — more memorable with the Travel Showcase. It will go on sale this Thursday, June 12th at 3:00pm (EDT).

This is a special pilot Showcase that will run for one week only. We are testing a new idea: limited-time life themed showcases. This Showcase will be promoted with a special themed banner on the Etsy homepage as well as via link in each travel-related post in the Storque's Got to Travel On series starting June 16th.

We ask that sellers choose travel-related items such as:

Travel accessories: Bags, passport holders, wallets, etc.
Vacation fashion: Clothing and accessories ideal for a getaway in all climates. (Safari hat, sunglasses, etc.)
Travel-related items: Maps, vintage road signs, compasses, travel games, travel-sized toiletries, journals.
Travel-inspired items: Think airplanes, road trips, landmarks, trains, beaches, etc.

These can also be great gifts for a recent graduate or someone headed for international study.

It goes on sale Thursday, June 12th at 3:00 pm EDT.

Go to the Showcase Gateway to purchase a spot.
It goes live on Monday, June 16th at 12 am (midnight) EDT and will run until 11:59 PM on June 22nd.
For $15 USD, Etsy sellers can purchase a 24 hour spot in the Travel Showcase, which is linked to from a prominent banner on Etsy's homepage and links from the Storque travel-related series.
Sellers determine which item to be featured in your Showcase slot. Sellers must use the tool in Your Shop. Read more about this process here.

Father's Day Showcase on Sale this Thursday, May 8th 2008

2008-05-06T14:35:00Z

Dear Sellers:

Baseball season has started and lots of gardening has begun. It's almost summer and it's hard to believe Father's Day is just around the corner!

The Father's Day Showcase will be going on sale this Thursday, May 8th at 12:00pm (EDT). This Showcase will be linked by way of a special themed banner on the homepage of Etsy.

We hope that sellers choose items that they would give their own fathers, a friend's dad or your husband. Some ideas may include cuffflinks, sport-related items, t-shirts or new briefcases! It is a great place for sellers to give buyers gift ideas for the very special men in their lives.

It goes on sale Thursday, May 8th at 12:00 pm EDT.

Go to the Showcase Gateway to purchase a spot.
It goes live on Monday, May 12th at 12 am (midnight) EST and will run until June 15th (Father's Day).
For $15 USD, Etsy sellers can purchase a 24 hour spot in the Father's Day Showcase, which is linked to from a prominent banner on Etsy's homepage.
You now administer which items you want to be fed into your Showcase slot through the tool in Your Shop. Read more about this process here.

Tech Update: Showcase Living Large & Storque Upgrade

2008-04-24T18:14:00Z

Dear Sellers,

In the past, you could tell when a Showcase wasn't sold out: the items in it would look a little sad and lonely, there was white blank space... But we just put through an update: any Showcase that isn't sold out now looks a whole lot more full-bodied. The images expand to take up more room!

For info on Showcase, read 13.5 Questions About The Showcase or other posts on this topic here.

Dear Storque readers,

Bless the Engineering Team and QA! They made us a number of wonderful changes to our admin panel. And you readers will notice admin have badges by our author avatars, so you can better tell who is who. We can now put videos in the Featured spots on the homepage of the Storque!

For more on new site features, check out the TechUpdates Featured Column and subscribe to Etsy News Email alerts!

Mother's Day Showcase on Sale this Thursday, March 27

2008-03-26T14:01:00Z

Dear Sellers:

The weather is finally starting to get warmer and Mothers Day is just around the corner!

The Mothers Day Showcase will be going on sale this Thursday, March 27th at 12:00pm EST. This Showcase will be linked by way of a special themed banner on the homepage of Etsy.

We hope that sellers choose items that they would give their own mom, a friend's mom, your wife or maybe a new mom. Some ideas may include jewelry (of course), accessories, ceramic items, bath and beauty items or anything that she loves but may hesitate to buy herself. Maternity wear is a nice idea for expecting moms. It is a great place for sellers to give buyers gift ideas for the very special women in their lives.

It goes on sale Thursday, March 27th at 12:00 pm EST.

Go to the Showcase Gateway to purchase a spot.
It goes live on Tuesday, April 1st at 12 am (midnight) EST and will run until the May 11th (Mother's Day).
For $15 USD, Etsy sellers can purchase a 24 hour spot in the Mother's Day Showcase, which is linked to from a prominent banner on Etsy's homepage.
You now administer which items you want to be fed into your Showcase slot through the tool in Your Shop. Read more about this process here.

What is this showcase thing? For a general introduction to Showcase, read Matt's Storque article 13.5 Questions about the Showcase, and for deeper thoughts on figuring out if Showcase is right for you, see Beth's Showcase Deconstructed article.

Handmade Wedding Series: How Sellers can get Involved

2008-03-05T17:39:00Z

Dear Sellers,

As a bride-to-be, I've noticed firsthand a little something called the "Wedding Industry." Bethela, who works on Etsy's Business and Finance Team, put it in perspective for me: it's a 50-70 billion dollar industry, and 9 billion dollars were spent online for wedding-related items, according to The Wedding Report, Inc's 2006 study.

Personally, I'm going through the process of planning a wedding right now and I've been amazed by the multitudes of details and decisions a bride-to-be has to make. We can choose to say "no" to a lot of the commercial stuff out there and we can choose to say "no" to the inner Bridezilla that consumerism tries to coax from within our romantic hearts. And so — being a working bride and an Etsy admin — I've turned my sights to our handmade marketplace for advice, for things I need to buy, and especially for quality custom orders. I want to express something personal about myself and my fiance in our wedding and I want to spend my money supporting indie artists and maybe learning how to make a few things myself. Etsy should be a great place to do just that.

Here's what we at Etsy are doing to about it:

We've been working hard on developing original content for our first Storque Handmade Wedding series. The series will last about a month with posts every day. Many Etsians have volunteered in this forum thread to contribute their own stories to the Storque series and also share their expertise from their own experiences as sellers and brides.
For this series, we're doing a targeted push to cross-pollinate content with several design and wedding-related blogs and websites.
We're placing Etsy-branded ads on targeted blogs and webites. We'll list these here once they're confirmed.
We will be plugging the Wedding Category and its Showcase in the Handmade Wedding Storque series.
We'll also be linking to the Wedding Gift Guide.
We are timing the launch of this series with the re-launch of Alchemy, which we think could be a huge asset for sellers interested in doing custom orders.

And so I'm calling on Sellers to help make Etsy a destination for wedding-related items. Here's how Sellers can help:

If you do custom work for weddings, you should list a sample pack for sale in your shop. Soon, Alchemy will re-launch and custom-orders will be even more convenient. To be included in the Storque's related items, we need a listing number and need a listing to be able to show off what you do.
If you have never put any of your items in the Wedding Category, now would be a good time to test that out and track your views and sales.
And, I noticed that there are about a million spots still open on our Weddings Category Showcase. This will be getting increased traffic.
Blog about the Handmade Weddings series when it launches. Link back to the Storque!
Post your favorite wedding-related blogs below in the comments.
Give us your suggestions for sub-categories for the Wedding Category in the comments below.

In my opinion, the Wedding Category is under-utilized! We will fill you in on more details with timing and advertising here as soon as we can. Let's make it kick some bridal butt and show the world how personalized, creative and beautiful handmade weddings can be! Grrrr! — Respectfully yours, the Handmade non-Bridezilla

Wedding Gift Guide | Wedding Category | Wedding Showcase | Handmade Wedding Series

Tech Update: More for your Money with Category Showcases

2008-02-22T11:17:00Z

Dear Sellers,

The Category Showcases now appear on each page when you're browsing the Top Categories. That means you get more coverage with your Showcase ads than before, since the Category Showcases previously only appeared on the first page. So enjoy and know that buyers will have their eyeballs on your items even more!

For more info on Showcases, Etsy's internal Cooperative Advertising program, see Showcase Deconstructed: Why We've Augmented Etsy's Cooperative Advertising Program and 13.5 Questions About The Showcase.

Pastel Loveliness: Spring Musings

2008-02-21T11:43:00Z

Oh, spring! It's in the air (or at least I hope so), and this pastel beautiful collection is sure to get you in the mood for baby animals, fresh grass and a bit of warmness in the air.

Oh! Also! If your items involve pastels, Easter, eggs, chicks, robins, deer, bunnies, nests, grass, flowers, spring fashion or anything else "springy," you might consider a spot in our Spring Showcase, which goes on sale at 12PM (EST) today, February 21st. Read more here.

Happy spring!

Spring Showcase On Sale This Thursday!

2008-02-19T15:25:00Z

Dear Sellers:

It may seem cold as the Dickens outside, but it is time to start getting your Spring products out to buyers!

The Spring Showcase will be going on sale this Thursday, February 21st at 12:00pm EST . This Showcase will be linked by way of a special themed banner on the homepage of Etsy.

While we hope that sellers choose items that involve pastels, Easter, eggs, chicks, robins, deer, bunnies, nests, grass, flowers, spring fashion or anything else "springy," you are welcome to post anything that you feel would be appropriate for the springtime.

It goes on sale Thursday, February 21st at 12:00pm EST.
Go to the Showcase Gateway to purchase a spot.
It goes live the following day Friday, February 22nd at 12 a.m. (midnight) EST and will run until the 31st of March.
For $15 USD, Etsy sellers can purchase a 24 hour spot in the Spring Showcase, which is linked to from a prominent banner on Etsy's homepage.
You now administer which items you want to be fed into your Showcase slot through the tool in Your Shop. Read more about this process here.

Are you wondering what the heck Showcase is anyway? For a general introduction to Showcase, read Matt's Storque article 13.5 Questions about the Showcase, and for deeper thoughts on figuring out if Showcase is right for you, see Beth's Showcase Deconstructed article.

St Valentine's Day Showcase, Coming Soon!

2008-01-14T17:35:00Z

The Valentine's Day Showcase will be going on sale tomorrow. This Showcase will be linked — by way of a special themed banner on the homepage of Etsy — to a special Showcase with all Valentine's Day items from sellers.

While we hope that sellers choose items that involve pink, red, hearts, cupids, chocolate, roses and all that lovey-dovey stuff, you are welcome to post anything that you feel would be appropriate as a Valentine's gift for him, her, beast, or child. Some of you may remember that last year we did two separate Showcases for His and Her; we aren't doing that this year. Keep it simple, cupid.

It goes on sale tomorrow Tuesday, January 15th at 3pm EST.
Go to the Showcase Gateway to purchase a spot.
It goes live the following day Wednesday, January 16th at 12 a.m. (midnight) EST.
For $15 USD, Etsy sellers can purchase a 24 hour spot in the Valentine's Showcase, which is linked to from a prominent banner on Etsy's homepage.
You now administer which items you want to be fed into your Showcase slot through the tool in Your Shop. Read more about this process here.

Are you wondering what the heck Showcase is anyway? For a general introduction to Showcase, read Matt's Storque article 13.5 Questions about the Showcase and for deeper thoughts on figuring out if Showcase is right for you, see Beth's Showcase Deconstructed article.

Tech Updates: Showcase System Upgraded

2008-01-10T12:29:00Z

Good news, sellers! We've upgraded the Showcase system, making it faster and easier to use. The Main Showcase goes on sale at 1:30 pm today, and you can sign up for a spot at the Showcase Gateway. Previously, only Category Showcases were appearing under the Showcase link in Your Etsy. Now all of the Showcase spots you've booked will appear there. You'll also see the name of the Showcase on your bill, so it should be much easier to keep track of the spots you have purchased.

Those of you who have purchased Category Showcases (the Showcases that appear at the top of each category) should already be familiar with the new system. Instead of pulling from your Featured items (the items that appear at the top of your shop), each Showcase has its own item queue you can rearrange. When you sign up for a Showcase spot, it will pull the 10 most recently listed items into the queue. You can add other items, remove items, and change the order from the Showcase page in Your Etsy.

For more information on how the Showcase works, including step-by-step instructions, read our Showcase How-To.

For a general introduction to Showcase, read Matt's Storque article 13.5 Questions about the Showcase and for deeper thoughts on figuring out if Showcase is right for you, see Beth's Showcase Deconstructed article.

Maintenance: Category Showcase

2007-12-11T13:00:00Z

:: UPDATE: We're all done -- thanks! Everything is back on. ::

Hi all,

This afternoon we’ll be moving the category showcases over to a new machine to facilitate their growth. While we're working on them, category showcase purchasing and category showcase listing management will be unavailable.

All showcases will remain functional during this update – the only functionality affected will be buying new slots and reorganizing slot listings.

We should be done in about an hour.

Thanks for your patience!

Please address all questions and comments to the associated forums thread.

More Category Showcases Unleashed!

2007-11-12T14:03:00Z

For those of you who have lamented that no category Showcase is available for the items you make, the wait is over! Following the success of the category Showcases in Art, Bags and Purses, and Jewelry, we are extending the category Showcases to all of the main categories.

Tomorrow, November 13, at 12pm EST we will be selling spots in the new showcases for November 14 - December 2. After that, we'll release new spots each day, just like we have been doing for the existing Category showcases.

To purchase a spot in a category Showcase, go to the Showcase gateway. For information on what the Showcase is and how it works, read our handy help guide.

Go here to talk about it!

November Storque Newscast

2007-11-04T16:21:00Z

It's time for another jam-packed newscast from the crew at Etsy Labs. This time we've got another weather report from Chaz aka winenutnyc, interviews with our visiting street teams from Texas and Portland, and lively performances from our artists-in-residence Majestica. HeyMichelle is our newscaster; her wardrobe courtesy of handmadecrafter, tubularist, MrsTsChains (store coming soon), leakarts, and featherwitch. Vanessa interviews Rokali with a special ironing-board chat: we look into the updates to the Showcases.

See all newscasts.

Showcase Deconstructed: Why We've Augmented Etsy's Cooperative Advertising Program

2007-11-02T10:30:00Z

Dear Sellers,

Beth aka bethela outlines some things to consider when thinking about buying a spot in the Showcases, Etsy's internal cooperative advertising program.

Beth works for Etsy on the Business Operations Team. She's also writing a series The Art of Pricing for the Storque. We'd also like to refer you to ExBoyfriend's how-to series called a DIY-friendly Guide to Advertising Online and Matt's 13.5 Questions about Showcase post.

Main Showcase
So the price for the Main Showcase is $15. When we decided to raise the price, we mentioned that the reason for the increase is because of the tremendous demand — but we didn't talk about why demand is higher.

Increased traffic to Etsy: Etsy has put a lot of effort into our public relations and outside advertising efforts. In addition to word of mouth and our sellers marketing their own shops, this effort has been highly successful, bringing a tremendous amount of traffic to Etsy. As our traffic continues to grow, the Showcase spots increase dramatically in value. Every spot has an increased opportunity to drive more traffic and more exposure to not only the item highlighted but also the seller's store. For more on Etsy's growth, see Statistics posts on the Storque.
Location on site: Just like in real estate, location is everything on the internet. Our homepage gets the most traffic and the Main Showcase is highlighted on this page.
Success stories: We have many examples of great successes using the Showcase. Some sellers have seen an immediate increase in sales, selling many items from an individual Showcase. The value however, is beyond the immediate sales. Most report that the increased exposure that the Showcase provides drives future traffic and sales. We are developing additional tools for sellers to measure the performance of their store and evaluate success for themselves.
Value: Compared to other ways to promote and advertise items or a store, the main Showcase is a great value. Yes, even at $15! It is up to an individual seller to decide whether purchasing a Showcase spot is good for their sales strategy and the types of products they are selling.

Category Showcase
Due to the success of the Main Showcase for our sellers, we looked for additional ways for sellers to highlight their work, strut their stuff so to speak. In addition to responding to a call from the community to create these opportunities, we believe it will also be an additional way our buyers can find great items.

Category Showcases are valuable for many of the same reasons as the Main Showcase. A key component for the Category Showcase is the ability to target a buyer that you already know something about. For instance, if I click on the Jewelry Category, you know I am already interested in jewelry. If you are a seller of jewelry, what better way to target a customer than one who has already expressed an interest in jewelry?

Obviously, we don't have success stories or traffic data to illustrate directly the value of a Category Showcase. That said, we have done a tremendous amount of research to better understand how people shop on our site and what is helpful in guiding people to find what they are looking for. The outcome of our research led to the creation of the Category Showcase. I know I am looking forward to watching how it does.

Advertising and Promotion
In general, advertising has been helpful to many of our sellers. However, listing in the Showcase may not be for everyone. Just like in pricing your items, promoting your items or your store takes some consideration. Advertising or promotion is an important component of your marketing and sales mix. Here are a few considerations:

Your products' presentation – Is your product compelling from a thumbnail perspective? Great pictures (here's a link to some photography tips and how-tos) and good descriptions help tremendously.
Type of products – Some products may benefit more from advertising than others.
Depth of your store – Will advertising help drive sales to the rest of your store?
Inventory – How much do you have to sell? How much would you like to sell?
Past successes — Has advertising worked for you in the past?

I have recommended to experiment with pricing. Experimenting with Showcase spots is also something to consider. Maybe the Main Showcase works great for you and that exposure is all you need to keep a good flow of sales going. Since every item is unique and every store has its own character, there are no magic formulas for advertising and promotion. What works for one seller may not work for another. One way to test what works for you is experimenting with Showcases on different days of the week, Main Showcase vs. Category Showcase vs. Storque Showcase, a combination of both Main Showcase and Category Showcase, proximity to a holiday, etc.

The changes in the Showcase reflect our efforts to give a larger, wider variety of sellers the opportunity to promote on Etsy. We want our sellers to do well and utilize the tools on our site in ways that work well for each individual seller. Our sellers' successes are our successes.

As always, lets keep the dialogue open. Please convo bethela or ask your questions below.

Shiny New Showcases

2007-10-31T18:09:00Z

As Etsy continues to grow, we're looking for new ways for sellers to promote their shops. We've got some radical ideas and some more straightforward ones, and this idea is one of the latter.

We've added three new Showcases to the line-up, each one specifically targeting a single category: Art, Bags and Purses, and Jewelry. Items in these Showcases will appear in a newly designed banner atop their respective category pages, and each category-specific Showcase can only contain items in that top-level category. In other words, every item in the Jewelry Showcase must have jewelry as its first tag.

Each category Showcase will have 25 spots (in a 5 by 5 grid), sold for $7 per day. You can purchase these spots through the showcase gateway, with the first spots going on sale tomorrow, November 2 at 6:00 pm EST (edited, time subject to change). There will also be a link in Your Etsy showing you all the Showcase spots you've reserved.

Given the high demand for the Homepage Showcase, and the newly expanded Category Showcases, the price for Homepage Showcase will be $15 the next time it goes on sale.

This is a trial run. We'll see how it goes, with the new format. If it goes well, we'll add Showcases to all our top-level categories. And of course your feedback is much-welcomed.

Showcase Heads Up

2007-10-28T17:33:00Z

The next Showcase spots will go on sale as follows:
Main Showcase: Tuesday, October 30th, at 12:00pm (noon) EDT.
Storque Showcase: Monday, October 29th, at 12:00pm (noon) EDT.

For both Storque Showcase and regular Showcase:
Spots are being sold at $7/spot and each spot lasts for 24 hours. To purchase all Showcase spots go to the Showcase Gateway.

Further Resources:
http://www.worldtimezone.com/

Still confused about the Showcase? Check out 13.5 Questions about Showcase

Storque Showcase on Sale

2007-10-16T12:45:00Z

Dear sellers,

The Storque Showcase is now on sale. Spots are being sold at $7/spot and each spot lasts for 24 hours. You are limited to two spots over the course of the next two week period. To purchase all Storque Showcase spots go to the Showcase Gateway.

Further Resources:

http://www.worldtimezone.com/

Still confused about the showcase? Check out 13.5 Questions about Showcase

Heads up: Storque Showcases Going on Sale Today (Tuesday)!

2007-09-27T03:51:00Z

The next two weeks of Storque Showcase spots go on sale this Tuesday, October 2nd, at high noon (EDT). The first spots will air on Wednesday Oct 3rd. These are also $7 per 24 hours. We are selling these in a two week cycle and you are limited to two spots.

To purchase all Showcase spots go to the Showcase Gateway on the appropriate day.

Please note that any given Etsian may not purchase more than 2 spots in the next regular Showcase and 2 spots in The Storque Showcase and 4 spots in the Halloween Showcase (that's 8 spots total).

Please see the forum thread for comments and questions.

Further Resources:

http://www.worldtimezone.com/

Still confused about the showcase? Check out 13.5 Questions about Showcase

From before:

A special Halloween/Autumnal Showcase goes on sale Friday September 28th, at 6pm (EDT). We'll be selling spots for the entire month of October. The first one airs on Oct 1 and it will have a spooky banner featured on the frontpage of Etsy. You are limited to four spots. These are $7 per 24 hour spot, with a limit of 4 spots that can be purchased at this time.

Please, please only purchase spots in this Halloween/Autumnal Showcase if you are selling Halloween items or autumn-themed items. You know... spooky stuff, candy-themed items, costume-related items, as well as brightly colored leaves, pumpkins, crows. These special showcases only work if we all use our best judgment!

The next regular Showcase spots will go on sale Friday, September 28th, at 12:00pm (noon EDT). They will be priced at $7 per 24 hours. The first ones air Monday Oct 1st. We are selling these in a two week cycle and you are limited to two spots.

Heads Up - Storque Showcase!

2007-09-17T07:04:00Z

Didn't get into the regular Showcase on Friday? Fear not! The Storque Showcase will go on sale today, September 17, at 12 noon EST. (SOLD OUT!) Spots are $7 per day and you can purchase two spots per cycle. (Each cycle lasts two weeks.)

The Storque Showcase is located at the bottom of the front page of The Storque. You can purchase your Storque Showcase spot much like the regular Showcase - simply go to the Showcase Gateway.

To find out what time the showcase goes in sale in your neighborhood, go here. See the previous article for more showcase details, and the forum thread for questions/comments.

Showcase Information

2007-09-14T08:21:00Z

Just a heads up...The regular showcase will go on sale at noon EST today. (UPDATED: Now sold out!)

Also, The Storque showcase (at the bottom of the front page for The Storque) goes on sale Monday, September 17 at noon EST. This offers you another chance to get your shop out there!

To find out what time the showcase goes in sale in your neighborhood, go here. See the previous article for more showcase details, and the forum thread for questions/comments.

The Storque at One Week Young + a Showcase Announcement

2007-09-14T07:35:00Z

It's been an intense and eye-opening first week. Overall, we've had a very positive response, and we thank you folks for your encouragement. Alison, Shannon, and I are loving our jobs right now and that helps to motivate us to bring you breaking Etsy news and fresh, handmade lifestyle content. We're only a week young, and we're going to continually re-evaluate and bring you our new ideas...

And we'll publish your new ideas! We've already had about forty pitches submitted through the pitch form. One thing (and the engineers will add this as they make their next round of changes): please give us your full name and Etsy username in the field that says "tell us about yourself." Some of these pitches are already in development, so stay tuned to The Storque for more stories, how-tos, reviews, interviews, and more from the community.

We've heard the selling community's need for Admin announcements and RevolvingDork, especially, has answered that call with the TechUpdates column. We've already had a dozen of these TechUpdates. We should note that all of The Storque's articles do have a commenting section at the bottom. However, when we post an Admin announcement where we wish to continue the dialogue on a forum thread, we'll disable commenting for that one post and paste the forum link instead. This way, we're not splintering the conversation, and Admin can continue to get feedback on any evolving issue.

Another concern has arisen about the closing of the Etsy Garden. If Etsy.com goes down unexpectedly or is taken offline for maintenance, The Storque continues to fly. Yes, there is an integrated login system, but we built The Storque to remain stable on separate servers should a break in Etsy online-ness occur.

The engineers are also continuing to tweak The Storque's RSS feeds. And we wanna do an RSS feed How-to for folks who want to get in on that action.

And finally, as promised, we'll be selling spots on a Storque-only Showcase, in addition to the regular Showcase. The Storque is stable and now that you've had a chance to get a feel for what it's all about, we're ready.

SHOWCASE ANNOUNCEMENT

The first two weeks of Storque-only Showcase spots will go on sale on Monday, September 17, at high noon (Eastern time). They will be priced like the regular showcase, at $7 per 24 hours. The first spots will air on Tuesday, the 18th.

The next two weeks of regular Showcase spots go on sale this Friday, September 14, at high noon (Eastern time). The first spots will air on Sunday, September 16th.

To purchase all Showcase spots go to the Showcase Gateway on the appropriate day.

Please note that any given Etsian may not purchase more than 2 spots in the next regular Showcase and 2 spots in The Storque Showcase (that's a 4 spot total).

Please direct any questions or comments to the forum thread on this topic.

Further Resources:

http://www.worldtimezone.com/

Still confused about the showcase? Check out 13.5 Questions about Showcase